Boro Beverage Branches Out

This spring, Boro Beverage’s Mother Brewer Carly Erickson mobilizes her kombucha operation with a newly renovated camper, The Mothership. The successful completion of her Kickstarter campaign provided Carly with the funds to take her probiotic beverages on the road and straight to your doorstep.

“I really love the idea of pop-up markets and mobility,” she says. “The idea of bringing The Mothership to the masses is bringing the products to the community so they’re more accessible.”

Accessibility, sustainability and community are three of Carly’s strongest values. Her kombucha and shrubs, or drinking vinegars, are more than healthy drinks; they’re a method of transforming and preserving local foods, strengthening community connections and valuing the imperfection of nature’s bountiful resources.

Carly can be found at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market on Wednesday afternoons and the Chapel Hill Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings with the farmers whose produce she proudly showcases in her beverages. The implementation of The Mothership allows Boro Beverage the freedom to branch out to food truck rodeos, park in central locations like Weaver Street, Steel String Brewery or Cliff’s Meat Market, and test out new flavors.

The growler-style fill available at The Mothership keeps Carly on her toes with new recipes. Her current bottling and labeling methods require more consistency and stability to sell wholesale, but the bulk filling station in The Mothership will offer specialty, peak-season experimental flavors.

But don’t worry if you’re looking for Boro Beverage probiotic drinks and you can’t make it to any filling sessions; Carly will mail you everything you need. As another part of her Kickstarter, she raised money to start a subscription-based program to buy shrubs online. Unlike kombucha, shrubs are not carbonated, and these syrups are shipped to your doorstep with drink instruction cards and recipes for at-home enjoyment.

And although Boro beverages will be available at The Mothership, on your porch and on draft at The Looking Glass Cafe and Gray Squirrel Coffee, Carly assures customers that she’ll still maintain her presence at the farmers markets.

“I’m very passionate about food and local food systems and farming,” she says, “and I think we need to find ways to honor those who grow our food.”